I Was Told to Drink Poison, So I Drank It - 40 - We already know
When I next woke up, my condition had improved quite a bit.
There was an unfamiliar woman in the room, and she seemed genuinely relieved that I had regained consciousness.
“Your Highness Chalize… I’m so glad. You’ve been asleep for a whole week.”
“A week…?”
“Yes. Occasionally, you would wake up, but your consciousness was very hazy… Anyway, you had a very high fever.”
“Did you take care of me?”
As I sat up, my joints ached. Maybe because I had been lying down for so long…
When I asked, the woman nodded and answered.
Her name is Nina. She says she is the wife of Noah’s subordinate.
If I had been asleep for a week, it means that a week has passed since we entered the temple.
(I feel like I met Prince Lawrence…)
I think we had a bit of a conversation there, but I’m not sure what’s a dream and what’s real.
Nina placed her hand on my forehead.
It seemed like my fever had completely gone down.
Since I was sweating a lot, I decided to take a bath. Although I still felt a bit sluggish, that was the only issue. I wasn’t unable to move.
Following Nina’s lead, I went to the bath and immersed myself in the water.
As I took a deep breath and relaxed, I started thinking slowly.
What should I do next? What do I want to do?
What do I myself want to do?
☆
After finishing my bath and changing clothes, someone knocked on the door. Nina answered, and she told me it was Noah who was visiting.
Since I was already dressed, I gave permission to enter, and Noah came into the room.
“Chalize…”
Noah looked at me as if he had just learned I was alive.
Now that I think about it, I had seen Noah at the temple, but he hadn’t recognized me as myself, falling into a confused state. After leaving the temple, I had collapsed and remained bedridden, so this would be our first proper reunion.
Noah stared at me, his platinum eyelashes trembling.
He called my name in a hoarse voice, then collapsed to the ground, sitting down.
“Noah.”
I also crouched down, and Noah grabbed my wrist. The strength in his grip made me gasp.
“I’m so glad… really, really glad. I didn’t think you were going to die, but… I was afraid. I wondered if you really had died…”
“Noah…”
Noah’s hand was trembling.
I must have worried him so much.
I must have made him anxious.
I lightly pulled Noah’s shoulder and rubbed his back a few times.
Noah was crying.
“…As usual, you’re a crybaby.”
“You make me cry.”
Noah quietly cried, tears spilling from the corners of his eyes, running down his cheeks, and wetting the carpet.
I gave a bitter smile.
“I’m sorry. I should have told you sooner.”
I had intended to tell Noah I was alive by heading to Utis, but I ended up wandering for three days in Utis Forest and couldn’t meet him.
Noah shook his head. His shoulders were slightly trembling.
“Sorry for making you worry.”
“It’s fine. It’s fine, Chalize. You’re alive. That’s all that matters to me.”
“There’s been a lot… By the way, where’s Louis? And Luke? Noah, you were also critically injured. Are you really okay to move around now?”
At the temple, we all sustained varying degrees of injury.
Noah’s wound was so severe it could have been fatal.
Remembering that, I grabbed Noah’s shoulder and pulled him away.
Noah’s face was wet with tears, but when he heard my words, he looked at me with wide eyes, surprised.
Then, with a wry smile, he said to me.
“I’m fine. The bullet went through. Louis and Luke are fine too.”
“That’s… good to hear.”
“The problem is with you, Chalize. You overused your holy power and fell into a deep sleep. Your body was crying out for rest.”
“I didn’t know using so much holy power could cause fever…”
I guess it happens because when the holy power gets depleted, the body converts all its energy into holy power to replenish it.
The body forces itself, needing rest.
Hearing my words, Noah looked at me seriously.
“Promise me, Chalize. You won’t push yourself anymore.”
“….”
I silently looked back at Noah.
Growing impatient with my silence, Noah called my name.
“Chalize.”
“I’m sorry, but I can’t promise that. Because Noah, if you were in the same situation, you’d do the same as me, wouldn’t you?”
When I said that with a wry smile, Noah was left speechless.
It’s because he would do the same.
After all, Noah had been ready to die with Aidan Rips in the temple.
At least, Noah couldn’t say anything about what I did.
Seeing Noah frozen in silence, I gave a faint smile.
“…I guess there’s no helping it. We can only live this way. We know the value of our lives. That’s why we end up choosing where to use them.”
“…Chalize.”
Noah started to say something, but his words didn’t continue. I think he was having trouble expressing what he wanted to say, or maybe what he was trying to say didn’t come out right.
However, I could somewhat understand how he felt, so I took his hand.
“For now, let’s just be happy that we’re both safe. And Noah, tell me what you’re planning to do. I want to help with whatever I can… for the sake of this country.”